ABSTRACT
The fierce independence of colonists and, later, settlers of the vast western territories were additional powerful contributors to the evolving structure of public schools. Probably the most striking features of public schools in the early nation were the frequency in which they were established and the localism characterizing them. A critical, although often overlooked, component of the debate is objective and realistic consideration of what schools are truly capable of doing. Yet, because the splinterings in social values are so protracted and bitter, education is especially caught between divisive demands that dispute and propound the mission of schools from opposite ends of sociopolitics. The equally interesting counter-question is raised when asking what would happen if schools were to receive less money. Schools are not only highly vulnerable to economic, political, and social dynamics, but rather schools are among the first targets of intentional social reengineering—so much so that some observers fear the stability of US public education is in danger.
